J.S. Mill’s Political Thought: A Bicentennial Reassessment

The year 2006 marked the two hundredth anniversary of John Stuart Mill’s birth. Though his philosophical reputation has varied greatly, it is now clear that Mill ranks among the most influential modern political thinkers. Despite his enduring influence, the breadth and complexity of Mill\'s political thought is often underappreciated. While his writings remain a touchstone for debates over liberty and liberalism, many other important dimensions of his political philosophy have until recently been ignored. This book aims to correct such neglect, by illustrating the breadth and depth of Mill\'s political writings, by drawing together a collection of essays whose authors explore underappreciated elements of Mill\'s political philosophy. The book shows how Mill\'s thinking remains pertinent to our own political life in three broad areas - democratic institutions and culture, liberalism, and international politics - and offers a critical reassessment of Mill\'s political philosophy in light of recent political developments and transformations.

• First book in a decade to reassess completely Mill’s political thought • Contributors include international stars such as J. Waldron, M. Walzer, A. Ryan, D. Thompson, W. Donner, F. Rosen, S. Holmes • Accessible essays that cross humanities and social sciences in their political philosophy perspectives

Part I. Liberty and its Limits: 1. Mill on liberty and on the Contagious Diseases Act; 2. Rational freedom in John Stuart Mill’s feminism; 3. The many heads of the hydra: J. S. Mill on despotism; 4. J.S. Mill and Liberal Socialism; 5. The method of reform: J. S. Mill’s encounter with Bentham and Coleridge; Part II. Democracy and the Individual: 6. Bureaucracy, democracy, liberty: some unanswered questions in Mill’s politics; 7. Mill in parliament: when should a philosopher compromise?; 8. John Stuart Mill, individuality, and participatory democracy; 9. Mill’s neo-Athenian model of Liberal Democracy; 10. John Stuart Mill on education and democracy; Part III. Beyond National Borders: 11. Cosmopolitan patriotism in J. S. Mill’s political thought and activism; 12. Mill and the imperial predicament; 13. Making sense of liberal imperialism; 14. Mill’s ‘A Few Words on Non-Intervention’: a commentary.